Cowboys and Cattlemen Essay

The United States as a nation is of all time changing. The U. S. population is growing each year, and the opposite types of paganalities go forward to flood into the coun probe intrusive for the Ameri rear end aspiration. However, how some(prenominal) mess actu both(prenominal)y hang this dream break down a reality? The solve to that is incredibly disheartening and was variety show surface harder to hold back in the earlier years of Americas history. Unless you were a white male in the late 1800s to 1900s, the Ameri plunder Dream was exactly that a dream.This failed ideal divulgehouse be explored through the discrepancy expressed in that of race, gender, and division through kayoed American history, specifically during the duration of cowboys and oxenmen. Additionally, much(prenominal) injustices can be portrayed in todays debauched forage diligence with the clambers of the employer to employee. Comparing and contrasting cowboys with kinemen and trea trs with employees will demonstrate how such issues come into affect. In order to express the in adjoinity faced within the trimforce between cowboys and oxenmen, the minimize of their field of work, who did the work, and their differences need to be taken into account.When the Conquistadors came to the Americas in the 16th century they brought their cattle and cattle- aggrandisement techniques with them. Huge let d witness grants by the Spanish government that was part of the hacienda system, al crusheded breakstanding(a) numbers of animals to roam freely over vast atomic number 18as (Wikipedia)1. Numerous traditions developed that often related to the overlord location in Spain. For example, the Vaquero tradition of Fed whilel Mexico was to a strikinger extent organic, developed to adapt to the characteristics of the region from Spanish sources by cultural interaction between the Spanish elites and the native and mestizo mints (Wikipedia).As settlers from the United Stat es stir up west, they brought cattle breeds from the east coast and Europe and adapt their management to the drier commonwealths of the west by borrow key elements of the Spanish vaquero culture (Wikipedia). From 1865-1900, raising cattle was the most prominent chore plant in the western United States. The Homestead pretend of 1862 guideed more settlers to come west and set up farms. This is because the Homestead Act gave some unmatched the baron to own farm reason for no cost at all however, the just now requirement needed was proof that the land had improved during the time of proprietorship.Therefore, it was very low-cal to obtain land, but improving it was the biggest challenge. Ranching is a toilsome task of raising grazing livestock such as cattle for meat. The owners of these lands known as cattlemen had to grade time in farming and raising crops such as hay and grains for feeding their animals to produce a profit. The cattle would go from the counterpane to th e trail, to the slaughterhouse, and eventually be distributed through complete America. But who ar the muckle freighter the scenes that shew and break the cattle or horses, and who does all the work on the ranch?Cowboys. Cowboys were the workers on the ranch who helped maintain it. Cowboys strived toward becoming men and they viewed the title of world a man based upon the masculinity shown. Cowboys demonstrate their masculinity in terms of their skills on the job, their withstand over their work conditions, and their ability to net individual decisions. Even in their time of leisure, they excuse would do things to prove their masculinity such as gamble, drink, fight, and fumble in sexual pleasures with prostitutes.In the book, Cowboys and Cattlemen by Jacqueline Moore, she explains how Anglo cowboys recognize skill regardless of people of colour, which provided exceptional men former(a) than whites a chance to gain respect (Moore)2. However, a majority of the hard w ork was left to the Mexican or black cowboys. Thats why numerous black cowboys were so experient in the more difficult argonas of work such as open frame bulls because they were obligate to do it the majority of the time. Today, numerous industries akin the warm diet industriousness employ people considered as the disdain class.It is not common to qualifying into a McDonalds and see Donald Trump on the job(p) the cash in register. Cowboys are seen as these cut back class people and it so happens people of color both in this time and today are still assay to climb out of the lower class and into high economic standing. Moore goes on to argue that cattlemen trusted the allegiance of their black cowboys and would often move over them carry out sen rallyive mislayions, such as guarding large sums of specie while on the trail (Moore). However, cowboys of color, despite their ability to gain respect with their amazing skill level, were still not able to run cattlemen th emselves.Many cowboys for that publication didnt remain much room to improve, which is why the relationships the cowboys had with one an opposite were so strong. Many of the cowboys werent ashamed to show affection towards each other because these relationships were the most important in their lives. The death of a friend was al routes the worst tragedy. Furthermore, many of these friendships seemed to be more than superficial. People questioned them because the cowboys bunked together which created chances for sexual relationships.To continue with their intimate relationship woes, these men had a operose time attracting the more respectable women, who unremarkably deplorable for cattlemen because they were more fiscally stable (Moore). This lead to the cowboys encounters with prostitutes. non many cowboys, for that matter, were married, and if they did get married it usually meant their calling was over. To make matters worse, towns began to find ways to drive outgoing c owboys by prohibiting guns and fining, arresting, and punishing them on the job which forced them to comply with the regulation of their public leisure.Discredited at work and in leisure, cowboys seemed more and more fringyized, out of step with the rest of American society (Moore). though cowboys of color were respected for their skill and, to an extent, racially tolerant, racism was still prevalent within society and in their work. Racism was not however existent during the era of Martin Luther mogul Jr. and the historic Civil Rights Movement, which was steered toward interruption color barriers in the Solid South, but it was seen as early as the times of the trail and cattle ranching. It affected the lives of the workers.People of color and women both were victims of discrimination. Women especially had no say in the way of life history of the ranch because their opinion was not taken into account. The job of a women consisted of solitary(prenominal) three things. One rais e the children, two do all the housework such as cooking cleaning and laundry amongst other daily household chores, and three handle financial situations such as doing the bills and buying groceries. There were cowgirls however, their stories arent heard because there were very few and womens cattle raising positions at the time were irrelevant.Prostitutes were even more greatly degraded because of their less than condonable lifestyle. On the ranch, cowboys of color had no chance of becoming cattlemen. washcloth Anglo cowboys had a slim chance but colored person cowboys had even fewer. This is because these nonwhite races were seen as not sufficiently evolved to discover true manhood. Segregation between white cowboys and nonwhite cowboys was in like manner consistent on many ranches during this period. For example, Anglo cowboys ate with the owner while Mexicans would camp out with the herds.Such sequestration and discrimination didnt allow women or nonwhites to move up in the companionable class. Cowboys in ordinary, if born(p) into a cowboy family, were destined to be that and that only. exemption for cowboys is a myth. Ultimately, cowboys were simply employees and lost what independence they had in their field of work. Cattlemen on the other hand had easy living. Cattlemen usually obtained their position because their fathers in the first place them were. In a way, its like they were taking on the family business. hereditary pattern was a huge jump draw a bead on for many of the men.However, to fully rifle a cattleman, emphasis on being men to prove themselves was stressed. This was done with a proper education, the contribution they made towards society, and getting married. Marriages usually lead to gifts or property, which was also another mark of manhood. The jobs cattlemen did were similar to that of businessmen- they did whatever they could to make a profit. most(prenominal) of the successful cattlemen experimented with different types of breeding techniques and invested heavily in land. They even had other business interests outside of the cattle application (Moore)3.Cattlemen looked to socialize with people in the towns round them rather than just the men on the ranch. As towns grew, so did the development of associations and entertainments that the men had known sooner coming to town, and socializing with men of equal stipulation was more common (Moore). Nonwhite ranchers were nonexistent and those who were in lower classes would never be seen socializing with cattlemen unless it was on the ranch. Furthermore, the way ranchers carried themselves in public, and the economic stability they possessed allowed them to attract the more respectable women who were better suited to be housewives.Similarly, in order to chthonianstand the workforce of the closely regimen industry, background information about the industry needs to be taken into account. The fast viands industry goes hand in hand with the cattle in dustry. In Central America, nearly 40% of the land was cultivated to become pasture for cattle that would give cheap beef to North Americas fast victuals industry (Myers)4. Furthermore, the cattle elevated in Central America are elevated on grass, making the beef lean and only suitable for the fast victuals for thought trade (Myers). dissolute food has become in high submit because of its low prices and its gizmo of location. Its hard to miss these eating places because driving around in a metropolis you are guaranteed to see some of these consumer-crazed fast food chains on just about all corner. They can even be found in local retail stores, airports, and gas stations. Fast food is quicker than preparing family-cooked meals and gibe to the article, Convenience, Accessibility, and the Demand for Fast Food, fast food accounts for 35% of the total away-from-home food expenditures (Binkley, et al)5.Moreover, according to the same article, fast food chains ache an increas e in consumption when located in areas inhabited by African-Americans and Hispanics (Binkley, et al). Targeting low-income races with cheaply priced food allows this industry to continue to grow because those of low-income wont be consistently eating at a sit down restaurant ordering a meal for twenty dollars when they can order one at McDonalds for as low as four dollars. Price, accessibility, and convenience are major factors to the success of this industry.Similarly to the point previously made about the low socioeconomic standing of cowboys, a majority of the employees of the fast food industry are working class people. The working class is becoming only certain ethnic groups- Hispanics, African Americans, and both legal and illegal immigrants. erstwhile immigrants enter the U. S. they are placed in the lower class regardless if they puzzle been in the put class in their country of origin. These people of color are hard-working employees and have families.However, they still earn only tokenish wage after years of experience. Typically, these ast-food jobs are oriented to be temporary positions for teenagers who are look to make some extra cash before going to college. But it has become a social norm that its the job position of those who are living off a paycheck-to-paycheck basis, struggling to make ends meet. Jennifer Talwars book, Fast Food Fast footstep Immigrants, Big Business, and the American Dream, states, the fast food restaurant offered me a way to understand how different ethnic groups relate to each other in their take on to survive but also improve their circle at the bottom of the American urban economic system (Talwar). 6 Like the cowboys, workers in fast food become separated from the owners and higher-class society so they turn to the relationships of one another.However, unlike the cowboys who were unable to become cattlemen, employees of color in the fast food industry can become even owners of a McDonalds or Burger King for ex ample. correspond to Talwar, Phil Hagans an African American man started out as a burger five and later became an owner of four McDonalds restaurants in Houston, as he was able to climb the hierarchies (Talwar). 7Just because there is marginal room for improvement of a workers position in this area of work doesnt mean there is an absence of inequality. The fast food industry is a business built on the ideal of low prices resulting it in having to keep force and other operating costs to a minimum. According to the book, Labour Relations in the Global Fast-Food Industry, Royle and Towers explain that low wages, minimal benefits, tight staffing, and efforts to intensify pains are predictable due to competition environs (Royle and Towers). 8This allows employers to have control and does not allow workers to have a say in changing working conditions. Such factors are not subject to change and the issue of unionizing poses no threat to the fast food business. This is because major fa st-food companiesare employed by privilegees, many of whom own only a few restaurants or just one, like Phil Hagans (Royle and Towers). This fragments the workers not only physically but also to the extent that they are under different management. unionization is also unable to emanate due to the role technology plays in standardizing the work of fast-food crews.These new machines basically tell the employee when to proceed on to the next step of the routine of preparing a burger or fries, resulting in a minimization for the need of skilled workers. Furthermore, having an education is not needed to work for fast food places such as McDonalds because these jobs dont require higher-level skills. However, while fast-food work is generally enured unskilled, it is not easy to effect well and it can be hard and exhausting work, especially during crabbed periods (Royle and Towers). 9 Mangers have complete control over their workers, starting with the scheduling of the workers hours. It is also a way to keep employment costs down and can be used as a disciplinary system. For example, coach-and-fours can call in employees on their days off and have them work late hours. Cattlemen of the ranch had different tactics for maintaining control but the outcome was the same. Unionization is further challenged in the fast food industry because many unskilled workers are young teens that only see this type of work as a temporary position.According to Royle and Towers, only one trio of those employed by the industry actually try to turn it into a career (Royle and Towers). Cowboys needed to have specific skill sets such as travel horses, being able to round herds up the trail, and manage the farmland. Teens and those who work the oven and fryers dont need to have a specific skill set because each skill is specialized. It can be juxtaposed to an accumulation line where a worker will perform one task all day that requires low input of labor.Therefore, the value of work fr om cowboys compared to employees of the fast food industry is diminishing. As seen with managers and employees of the cattle industry of the past and fast food industry of today, the hierarchies of the workforce are evident and havent been drastically modified. On the ranch, a cowboy (especially one of color) couldnt become a cattlemen. In the fast-food industry a burger flipper can become an owner of his own franchise but, unless its handed down like a ranch from cattlemen to cattlemen, its an outrageous number of years to climb in rank.The hierarchy in a typical fast-food restaurant is as follows, from lowest job to highest crewmember, crew trainer, manager trainee, second and first assistant manager, associate and general manger, store supervisor, and finally owner. By the time a worker reaches the top theyll have white pig and be ready for retirement. Climbing the different levels isnt promising. Thats how owners of big industries want it. The higher class will continue to impr ove and gain wealth while the lower class will struggle to fight for a higher economic standing for the majority of their lives.Many workers wont ever obtain the life they thought they would achieve in a nation known to be the home of the free and the land of the brave and where an American Dream is possible. The United States needs to adapt to make lives easier for its people by giving health care, increasing minimum wage, and actually listening to the voices of the people who inhibit this great country. If the United States industries continue to suck the life out of their workers and have total control over every aspect of these laborers, then the ideology of being equal will be never be in existence.